Radio Archive by Tag

Retail/Commerce

  • Fire Sale in Kansas City.

    418: Toxie 11.05.2010

    David and Chana buy a toxic asset, from a guy named Wit Solberg, who used to work on Wall Street ...Business • Economics • Retail/Commerce

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  • Bridge and Tunnel.

    407: The Bridge 05.07.2010

    In the Middle East, hundreds and hundreds of tunnels connect the Gaza strip and Egypt, allowing ...Death • Retail/Commerce

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  • If God Isn't A Penn State Fan, Then Why Is The Sky Blue And White?

    396: #1 Party School 12.18.2009

    Because of the University, State College is in the only county in Pennsylvania where GDP grew in ...Alcohol • Business • Retail/Commerce

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  • Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana?

    395: Middle of the Night 11.27.2009

    Adam Davidson and Chana Joffe-Walt from Planet Money head to the Hunts Point Market in the ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • The Early Bird Catches The Chicken.

    395: Middle of the Night 11.27.2009

    When a new Chick-Fil-A sandwich shop opens, people line up 24 hours in advance to be one of the ...Food/Drinks/Cooking • Retail/Commerce

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  • Short-circuit City

    377: Scenes From a Recession 03.27.2009

    We hear 5 employees of different Circuit City store locations read their accounts of what it was ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Punching the Clock in the Enthusiasm Factory.

    372: The Inauguration Show 01.16.2009

    Well over two years ago, long before the country chose Barack Obama...a company called Tigereye ...Business • Politics • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue.

    371: Scenes From a Mall 12.26.2008

    Most media stories set in shopping malls don't really tell you much about what it feels like ...Retail/Commerce • Teenagers

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  • Love Line.

    371: Scenes From a Mall 12.26.2008

    We meet Russell, 19, the best mobile phone salesman in the mall -- and possibly anywhere. His ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce • Romance

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  • Not Dead Yet.

    371: Scenes From a Mall 12.26.2008

    Yes, some stores are going out of business in the Cool Springs Galleria, but it's just two ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Santa Fight Club.

    371: Scenes From a Mall 12.26.2008

    A tale of two Santas. There's Tim Conaghan, a full-time professional Santa with a big belly and ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Job: Security.

    371: Scenes From a Mall 12.26.2008

    In a part of the mall no shoppers ever see, there's a snug, dark little room with 43 TV screens, ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue.

    325: Houses of Ill Repute 02.02.2007

    Host Ira Glass talks to Randall Bell, who specializes in assessing how tragedy affects real ...Crime • Housing • Murder

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  • Dreams Of Distant Factories.

    303: David and Goliath 12.02.2005

    Rachel Louise Snyder reports on the struggle to save the Cambodian economy. Right now, Cambodia ...Development • Labor • Politics

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  • Adventures At Poo Corner.

    303: David and Goliath 12.02.2005

    Contributor David Sedaris uncovers a disturbing and hidden trend that's taking place where ...Funny • Retail/Commerce

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  • Mall Rat.

    298: Getting and Spending 09.23.2005

    John Hodgman provides an occasionally true account of seven days spent at the Mall of America. ...Fiction • Retail/Commerce

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  • Cat Got Your Tongue.

    288: Not What I Meant 05.06.2005

    A fable about gossip and the service industry involving a cat and a baboon, by David Sedaris. ...Animals • Live Performance • Retail/Commerce

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  • Working Class Hero Sandwich.

    287: Backed Into A Corner 04.15.2005

    Dawna Lentz was a new employee at Quiznos sub shop in Seattle when the franchise owners just ...Food/Drinks/Cooking • Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Not Your Father's Chevrolet Salesman.

    279: Auto Show 12.10.2004

    This American Life producer Sarah Koenig checks out competing sales techniques at a Chevy ...Automobiles • Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Mystery Shoppers.

    278: Spies Like Us 11.19.2004

    They are ordinary people who go undercover in coffee shops and chain stores, spying for The ...Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue.

    273: Put Your Heart In It 09.24.2004

    When you're in school, you're supposed to be a Renaissance person — do art, literature, sports, ...Food/Drinks/Cooking • Retail/Commerce

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  • Lunchtime With The King Of Ketchup.

    264: Special Treatment 05.07.2004

    Jonathan Goldstein with a story of the kind of preferential treatment we all dream of, where ...Food/Drinks/Cooking • Retail/Commerce

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  • The Router Less Taken.

    263: Desperate Measures 04.16.2004

    A man tries to unload a piece of junk he bought by selling it on eBay...not by concealing its ...Personal Finance • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue.

    255: This American's Life's Holiday Gift-Giving Guide 12.19.2003

    Host Ira Glass goes to a busy Target store one week before Christmas. Most shoppers he talks to ...Holidays • Retail/Commerce

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  • Does Niceness Pay?

    245: Allure of the Mean Friend 09.05.2003

    In which we conduct a little scientific experiment—on tape, with hidden microphones—about ...Food/Drinks/Cooking • Retail/Commerce

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  • Unconquerable.

    237: Regime Change 04.18.2003

    Katie Davis tells the story of one storefront in her bustling commercial neighborhood that ...Business • Retail/Commerce

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  • Making Money The Old Fashioned Way.

    233: Starting from Scratch 03.07.2003

    Mary Beth Kirchner documents one day in the life of a hustler named Joe, who wakes up every ...Addiction • Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Show Me The Monet.

    224: Middlemen 10.25.2002

    You can't do a program about middlemen without a story about business. In this act, we hear from ...Retail/Commerce • Sports

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  • Prologue.

    223: Classifieds 10.11.2002

    Host Ira Glass talks with Marion Tanios, a classified section editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. ...Journalism • Retail/Commerce

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  • For Sale.

    223: Classifieds 10.11.2002

    The classifieds are populated by people in flux. People selling stuff from old lives in ...Divorce • Retail/Commerce

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  • No Receipt, No Surrender.

    222: Suckers 09.27.2002

    Jen's mom Sheila does things like this: She buys a brand name at a discount store, and then ...Mothers • Personal Finance • Retail/Commerce

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  • The Stereo Type.

    222: Suckers 09.27.2002

    Rarely when we're suckered do we get a chance at revenge, and that turns out to be a good thing. ...Crime • Retail/Commerce

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  • Handing People Their Dreams.

    216: Give the People What They Want 07.12.2002

    Ali Davis literally hands people their fantasies, in her job at a Chicago video store with a ...Film/Film Making • Retail/Commerce • Sexuality

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  • Prologue.

    200: Hearts and Minds 11.30.2001

    We hear clips from the recent press conference with Charlotte Beers, recently appointed ...Business • Government • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue.

    168: The Fix Is In 09.15.2000

    Host Ira Glass speaks with two people who believe they've uncovered behind-the-scenes ...Business • Government • Politics

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  • Act One.

    168: The Fix Is In 09.15.2000

    We hear the first part of our story about Archer Daniels Midland and FBI informant Mark ...Business • Crime • Government

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  • Act Two.

    168: The Fix Is In 09.15.2000

    Our story about ADM and Mark Whitacre continues. The FBI finds out that their star cooperating ...Business • Crime • Government

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  • Prologue.

    158: Mob Mentality 05.05.2000

    There's a TV ad so popular in Canada right now that people chant it in bars, stand and cheer it ...Retail/Commerce • Television

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  • Shopping for a Better Future.

    156: What Remains 03.31.2000

    Producer Julie Snyder looks at what happens in one poor Chicago neighborhood when the community ...Business • Race • Retail/Commerce

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  • If Cats Ran Hollywood.

    154: In Dog We Trust 03.10.2000

    What do cats want to see on television? Steve Malarky, creator of the world's best-selling home ...Animals • Retail/Commerce • Television

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  • Thank Heaven For Little Girls — Made Of Plastic.

    153: Dolls 03.03.2000

    The story of a company trying an experiment at marketing dolls to little girls:A new kind of ...Children • Retail/Commerce

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  • The Good, The Bad, And The Wacky.

    97: Death to Wacky 03.20.1998

    Ira talks with Josh Glenn, editor of Hermenaut, who explains the difference between Good Wacky ...Business • Retail/Commerce

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  • Straw Man.

    81: Guns 10.24.1997

    Chicago writer Tori Marlan with a man who sold guns to criminals for two years, and what he ...Crime • Retail/Commerce

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  • Prologue. Your House, My Nightmare.

    67: Your Dream, My Nightmare 06.27.1997

    Ira with 19-year-old Claudia Perez at a furniture store in Claudia's Mexican neighborhood. (4 ...Retail/Commerce • Teenagers

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  • Prologue. Lottery Players.

    62: Something for Nothing 05.02.1997

    Ira visits the lottery stand in Chicago that sells more lottery tickets than any other: Hannah's ...Business • Personal Finance • Retail/Commerce

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  • Faith Shattered.

    57: Delivery 03.14.1997

    An unhappy customer gets a phone call from the CEO of FedEx and still keeps his personal boycott ...Business • Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Toys R Us

    47: Christmas and Commerce 12.20.1996

    Host Ira Glass visits a Toys R Us on Christmas Eve at closing time. (4 minutes) Holidays • Retail/Commerce

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  • Santaland Diaries.

    47: Christmas and Commerce 12.20.1996

    The diaries are about David's two Christmas seasons working as an elf in Macy's department store ...Funny • Holidays • Jobs/Employment

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  • Christmas Freud.

    47: Christmas and Commerce 12.20.1996

    David Rakoff on playing Freud in the windows of Barney's department store. (15 minutes)Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce

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  • Carmen Becomes Faust.

    43: Faustian Bargains 11.22.1996

    Carmen Delzell on a deal she made with the devil when she turned 30. (14 minutes)Housing • Jobs/Employment • Personal Finance

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  • Prologue.

    35: Fall Clearance Sale 09.06.1996

    Host Ira Glass goes to Navy Pier to visit the clearance sales. (2 minutes)Retail/Commerce

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  • Basketball and Commerce.

    25: Basketball 06.07.1996

    Chicago playwright Beau O'Reilly goes with Ira to the Scottie Pippin Dodge Store. Then, ...Business • Retail/Commerce • Sports

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